Maloney's lead, new F2 cars and F3 rising stars
- cmarchisio0
- Mar 12, 2024
- 5 min read
The first stint of F1's top feeder series as it happened
On the long flight to Melbourne Zane Maloney can sleep soundly. After dominating on the Sakhir track, the boy from Barbados left his second race weekend with two top 10 race finishes, strengthening his lead with 15 points to spare. A messy qualifying session saw him start in 16th, a long way from the front. A win was nearly impossible, but he still managed to take fifth and seventh place on a narrow and incredibly fast track like the Saudi one. Maloney joined Sauber this season after Red Bull from its junior program and is one of the most promising talents in this year’s grid. Asked if his comeback had been aided by the new generation of cars he said this was not the case. “I think I've just clicked a bit more in general as a driver”. But the difference with last year's cars is very noticeable, especially in terms of gaps. Good news, since this was the main reason behind the upgrade. But, if in Bahrain Maloney had dominated both races, in Jeddah there was a lot more balance. MP Motorsport's Dennis Hauger, brought home a Sprint Race win after being promoted to victory spot thanks to Verschoor's disqualification for technical infringement. While an emotional Enzo Fittipaldi took top spot in Feature Race after a spectacular double overtake move in turn 1, which gives him a total of 32 points and second place in the drivers' championship.
Even in qualifying the timesheets speak for themselves. In both Bahrain and Jeddah cars were separated by less than a tenth. “I mean after 6 years of having the same car, the gaps in the first few rounds were like 1 second” Bearman said after topping qualifying in Jeddah. "I remember I was sitting here one year ago, seven tenths off in P2. I think seven tenths off today would have put me outside the top 15. It’s definitely brought the field closer this new car”. The Prema driver made it back to the front after a first weekend in Bahrain he described as 'difficult' for the Italian team. Pole position in Saudi Arabia should have earned him two points, but the Ferrari junior had to watch Kush Maini from the sidelines as he was called to replace Sainz. So Bearman ended another weekend with zero points - those won in F1, unfortunately, do not count - which weighed on driver and team standings. Luckily Antonelli softened the blow for Prema by finishing sixth in both races and showing a definite improvement in performance. "The start of the Feature Race went much better, but then I struggled during the race because I had some understeer which caused me to lose some lap time. Then we were unlucky because some drivers stopped under Safety Car”, said the 17-year-old. “It’s not the result we wanted, but it's a good step forward compared to Bahrain.”
When it comes to rookies, Aron definitely impressed. The 20-year-old Estonian is two years older than Antonelli and with one season in F3 on his back. In F2, he’s already brought home two podiums, one in Bahrain and one in Jeddah. He slipped out of the points in the Saudi Feature, but he is now fourth in the standings, just two points behind a trio that boasts a total of five completed seasons in F2. The cars are equally new to drivers, making it slightly easier for this year’s rookies to stand out, but at Hitech they have no doubts. "He's been brilliant”, team principal Oli Oakes said in Sakhir. “And I say that before getting the results, just how he has approached the weekend, how he's been pushing the team and working with us. It's really nice to see because you can't teach that, you're either a driver who gets the team around them is really important or not. […] That’s hugely valuable, especially with a new car and everyone starting from zero. I dare say, no one knows exactly what's right, so you have to trust each other”. And it’s not just Aron that should be trusted, with other rookies putting in solid performances. Reigning F3 champion Bortoleto failed to bring home a single point at Jeddah, despite a good first weekend that saw him start on pole in the Bahrain Feature and finish just off P3. Martí also suffered from bad luck in Saudi Arabia. After a strong double podium in Sakhir, he went off in race two at Jeddah, causing a Safety Car in lap 2. He's now dropped to sixth in the standings, but it’s a long road to Yas Marina (6-8 December). Helmut Marko has picked him for his treasured Red Bull Junior Team, so there is no doubt he has talent. It is only a matter of time.
F3 only had one round so far, making it much harder to draw any conclusions. Despite limited track time, there were two drivers shining brightest among the paddock. Arvid Lindblad, English, born in 2007 and Red Bull junior is the first one. He comes directly from Formula 4 where he finished in third in the 2023 Italian championship. Then nine races out of fifteen in this year’s Formula Regional Middle East and straight to F3. He is what they call a true rookie, because he didn’t race in Formula Regional EU, considered by many to be a step between F4 and F3, but technically belonging to F3. He started the Sakhir Sprint in fourth on the reverse grid, after a good P10 in qualifying. On lap nine he overtook Esterson to move up to third and from there he enjoyed the fight between ART teammates Tsolov and Van Hoepen, watching closely in case one of them made a mistake. It happened in lap 13, with the Dutchman going wide. Within a couple of laps Lindblad took the lead over Tsolov in Turn 1 with DRS, only to lose it again shortly afterwards. New lap same story, Lindblad repeated the manoeuvre and this time it stuck all the way to the chequered flag. Meanwhile the two ARTs continued to fight behind him, losing time and paving the way for Fornaroli, who took the final step of the podium, continuing the positive trend shown in 2023.
The second to stand out in Bahrain was Luke Browning. Hitech driver, Williams junior. Also British, he too had skipped the EU Formula Regional in favour of GB3, which he won in 2022. After a spectacular double overtake in the Sprint, he took advantage of Beganovic’s unlucky start by immediately taking the lead from P2. It looked like a problem in the exhaust might ruin his race, but he held out to the end, taking home his first win in the category. It is too early to say whether he can aim for the title, but he certainly arrived in Bahrain as a more mature driver and he knows it. “We knew our pace was going to be there, the car was phenomenal so all the hard work over the winter, the development, the tutoring from Williams, the support from Oli [Oakes] at Hitech has been, a hard winter but its nice to see that the hard work has paid off”.
Great performances also from Tramnitz, fifth and third in the two races and second in the championship, and for Meguetounif, sixth in the drivers' standings. Strong results for Minì, back in Prema after a 2023 in Hitech, and Mansell, who moved to ART from Campos. Bittersweet weekend for Beganovic, with zero points in the Sprint and a disastrous start in the Feature. He took home two points and the satisfaction of a good qualifying, making it a weekend to forget. But with nine rounds left on the calendar he can definitely make up for it.
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